Parents’ views of the insulin pump
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An exploration of parent’s views of managing their children’s type one diabetes with insulin pumps
IRAS ID
153318
Contact name
Elizabeth Hunter
Contact email
Research summary
In 2011, the Scottish Government committed to increasing the availability of insulin pumps across Scotland; with the aim that a quarter of young Scots with type 1 Diabetes (T1D) would have access to insulin pumps by March 2013. Research investigating whether insulin pumps improve quality of life has found differing results, and although parents play a key role in managing their child’s diabetes, few studies have looked at the impact of the insulin pumps on parent quality of life.
This study aims to explore the views of parents managing their children’s T1D with insulin pumps, and to investigate the impact of the insulin pump on their quality of life.
A clinician from the diabetes team in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) will identify parents attending with a child aged 12 or younger with T1D who have used the insulin pump. A random sample of 25 identified parents will be sent an information pack about the study containing a letter from the diabetes team explaining why they are being contacted, an information sheet about the project, and a participant response form. Posters will also be put up in the waiting room of the Diabetes outpatient department to recruit. The principal researcher will contact interested participants to carry out a semi structured interview within the RHSC. Written informed consent will be gained before the interview. This study aims to recruit eight participants, and will be analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA); IPA aims to explore in detail how the participant makes sense of their experiences.
The findings of this study may be helpful for clinicians, and for parents, deciding whether or not to begin insulin pump therapy with their child.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
14/NS/1011
Date of REC Opinion
13 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion